Friday, December 18, 2015

This postcard compares the height of the Tower of Jewels, the highest building at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition at 435 feet to the 443 foot length of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company's S.S. Congress.

CELEBRATE THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OFTHE 1915 PANAMA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITIONin San Francisco&THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1939-40 WORLD'S FAIRSin New York and San FranciscoLook for more World's Fair Postcards on the Postcardy Blog on Fridays.To view past World's Fair posts, click here or on the exposition label.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

The printed greeting on the front of this postcard is Radostné vánoce, which is Merry Christmas in the Czech language. The back is covered with writing in Czech. The message begins with Radostné a štástné, which translates as Joy and happiness or Joyful and happy. The rest of the message is too hard for me to read, but I recognized the date 1949 preceded by v novém Roce (in the New Year).

I especially like this postcard because the doll reminds me of one of my first dolls which was very similar. My doll was named Mabel. I am now guessing that my mother chose that name. I Googled "doll named Mabel" and discovered that there were dolls named Mabel when my mother was young. The card also reminds me of my family's Christmas ornaments, some of which were made in Czechoslovakia.

Friday, December 11, 2015

This postcard of the "Kitchen in U. S. Army Barracks" was published by Curt Teich. It is labeled U. S. Army Cantonment Series No. 68. This seems to be a large general series of postcards illustrating Army life in the World War I era.The postcard does not identify a specific camp or location.

This particular card was mailed from Des Moines, Iowa on November 3, 1918 with a 2¢ stamp. The stamp indicates that the sender apparently was not a soldier who could have mailed the card "free" via Ssoldiers Mail. The message is typical of the type used to fill up space on a postcard without really saying anything:

Dear Raymond: I rec'd your letter and was glad to hear from you. I am well and glad to hear you are the same. I haven't much news to write. Tell all the folks hello for me. I must close as ever your friend. Charlie

CELEBRATE THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OFTHE 1915 PANAMA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITIONin San Francisco&THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1939-40 WORLD'S FAIRSin New York and San FranciscoLook for more World's Fair Postcards on the Postcardy Blog on Fridays.To view past World's Fair posts, click here or on the exposition label.

Sunday, December 6, 2015

A beautiful addition to this fast growing community is the 7 Seas Restaurant, made possible through the foresight of one of Miami's pioneers, the late Jerry Galatis, who founded the institution in 1913. In Connection there is a cozy Marine Cocktail Lounge. Good Foods, excellently prepared, are served.

Friday, December 4, 2015

Above: View of International Harvester Exhibit from the South-East Corner

Below: Rest Room for the Comfort and Convenience of Visitors

CELEBRATE THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OFTHE 1915 PANAMA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITIONin San Francisco&THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1939-40 WORLD'S FAIRSin New York and San FranciscoLook for more World's Fair Postcards on the Postcardy Blog on Fridays.To view past World's Fair posts, click here or on the exposition label.

Friday, November 27, 2015

CELEBRATE THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OFTHE 1915 PANAMA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITIONin San Francisco&THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1939-40 WORLD'S FAIRSin New York and San FranciscoLook for more World's Fair Postcards on the Postcardy Blog on Fridays.To view past World's Fair posts, click here or on the exposition label.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

The size of the pumpkin depicted on this Thanksgiving postcard probably seemed very exaggerated when the card was published in the early 1900s. The world record pumpkin was in the 400 pound range back then. It took until 1990 for the record to pass the 800 pound mark. Since then, the art of growing giant pumpkins has advanced rapidly, with recent records topping 2,000 pounds. (source: GiantPumpkin.com).

Friday, November 20, 2015

CELEBRATE THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OFTHE 1915 PANAMA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITIONin San Francisco&THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1939-40 WORLD'S FAIRSin New York and San FranciscoLook for more World's Fair Postcards on the Postcardy Blog on Fridays.To view past World's Fair posts, click here or on the exposition label.

Friday, November 13, 2015

This is a real photo postcard from The Kregel Photo Parlors of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. It pictures a man and a woman in a hot air balloon studio prop. The balloon appears to be painted on a backdrop with a cutout for the subjects to be photographed.

The man is probably Massie Edgell, though I am not sure how to interpret the information written on the back. Massie Edgell was listed as a head of household in the 1920 census. At that time he lived in Minneapolis and was 32 years old. He was born in Indiana and had a wife named Inga who was born in Norway.

Friday, October 30, 2015

An unusual old Halloween custom involved taking a candle and looking into a mirror to see your future husband's face. This postcard is one of a series illustrating that tradition. This card appears to show the culmination of the ritual, when the couple has met and kissed.

Listen, Little One!

On Halloween take a candle

and look into a mirror, then

over your shoulder you'll see

your future hubby's face –of course this

affair must be prearranged to be successful for the Witches are

busy and can't tend to every body

O. U. KID

When I searched for information about this Halloween custom and the expression "O. U. Kid." I found a blog with several posts displaying postcards and discussing these subjects. Instead of repeating the information, I will give you the links to those posts. There are many more postcards there and the posts are well worth reading.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Located on U.S. Highways 11 and 90 in suburban New Orleans, 5 Miles East of Canal St.

Widely known for its excellent cuisine, specializing in seafoods of all kinds, choice western steaks, and New Orleans fried chicken. Expertly mixed drinks served at untra modern bar. Home of the famous New Orleans "Poor Boy." Open 24 hours.

Friday, October 23, 2015

CELEBRATE THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OFTHE 1915 PANAMA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITIONin San Francisco&THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1939-40 WORLD'S FAIRSin New York and San FranciscoLook for more World's Fair Postcards on the Postcardy Blog on Fridays.To view past World's Fair posts, click here or on the exposition label.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Located just one mile from the business center of Sarasota, Florasota gardens faces quaint Hudson Bayou overlooking magnificent Sarasota Bay. The streets and grounds are elegantly landscaped with luxuriant tropical palms, trees, shrubs, and flowers of untold varieties. A fresh water swimming pool fed by a continuous flow of artesian wells overlooks a tropical lagoon where white swans, geese, ducks, and unusual bird life abound.

Friday, October 16, 2015

The real photo postcard above has no identifying information. I bought it because it is a classic example of a portrait of stair step children. The term stair step children sometimes refers to children of a family who are spaced closely in age. Its meaning is more obvious when the children are spaced fairly evenly, but farther apart. When the children are lined up standing from youngest to oldest, or shortest to tallest, they resemble stair steps

Below is a family portrait I found on the Internet. It was posted on a Polish blog here, along with some other old pictures of children. There are seven steps here--five children and two parents.

is an artistically designed and completely furnished residence built entirely of Redwood. In its interior finish it displays many new and beautiful treatments of the wood. Do not fail to see it.

Panama-Pacific Exposition Grounds - San Francisco - 1915

CELEBRATE THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OFTHE 1915 PANAMA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITIONin San Francisco&THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1939-40 WORLD'S FAIRSin New York and San FranciscoLook for more World's Fair Postcards on the Postcardy Blog on Fridays.To view past World's Fair posts, click here or on the exposition label.

Friday, October 9, 2015

I am calling these postcards "Portraits of a Boy" for lack of a better description. There is no information on the backs of these cards, so I have no idea who or where the people are. I was reminded of these postcards by this week's Sepia Saturday 300 prompt.

I bought the postcard above because I thought it looked kind of interesting. The photo doesn't look like either a typical studio photo or a typical
home photo. It looks like the
photographer tried to make something similar to a studio portrait at
home and wasn't entirely successful..I also was intrigued by the surroundings and the way the boy is standing on "something" to make him tall enough to pose with his arm on the table.

The center picture on the back wall appears to be the same boy at a slightly younger age. The wallpaper has an unusual forest-like pattern. The small rug is placed on a plaid floor covering and also looks unusual. It appears to be a hooked imitation of an animal skin rug.

I was really surprised to find the second photo below years later and in a different place. I seem to remember that there were also some other cards with variations of this boy in the same surroundings. This photo pictures the boy between an older man and a woman, presumably family members. The boy appears to have some foliage or feathers growing out of the tip of his head!

In both of these photos, the details of the boy are washed out by the strong light coming from the right, and.the image itself is tilted. Both photos look amateurish, but I think they are more interesting than the typical "good" photo.